Mosquito Squad of Southern New Hampshire Gives Ticks a Rude Spring Awakening

It is still winter here in Southern New Hampshire. Every couple days, we are getting snow showers, and with temperatures at or below freezing, we are still wearing coats. But it is late February, which means spring is just around the corner. We are all looking forward to milder days, flowers, and new leaves on the trees. The arrival of warm weather will bring cute bunnies and baby birds, but cute animals won’t be the only newbies out and about. Spring will wake a far creepier creature – the tick. Ticks have a life span of two years. In our terms, this is not very long, but it is plenty of time for the tick to be a nuisance and even cause damage by transmitting diseases to our families and pets.

While many different species of these insects are a nuisance, the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) is particularly dangerous because of its ability to carry and transmit Lyme disease to humans and animals. During the deer tick’s life cycle, it passes through four stages – egg, larvae, nymph, and adult. A tick is typically infected with Lyme disease when, in its larval stage, it feeds on an infected rodent or bird. During any feeding after infection, it can transmit Lyme disease to its new host. The tick’s nymph stage is actually the most dangerous to humans and pets. During this stage, the tick posses the disease, and it is extremely small, the size of a poppyseed or a comma in newsprint. While an adult tick is still capable of spreading Lyme disease, its size (though still small) makes it easier to discover and remove before infection occurs. The longer a tick is attached the more likely it is to pass Lyme to a host, so the incredibly small size of nymphs makes them the most likely to give humans or pets Lyme disease. Deer tick nymphs are active and feeding during the spring and summer months. Though they are dormant right now, all it takes is a few warm days to wake them.

Lyme is a disease of concern here in our area. The CDC has reported that, in 2012, 95% of all reported Lyme disease cases occurred in 13 states. New Hampshire was one of these states. Since we are aware that the disease is a risk every year, it is important to act now in order to protect you and your family. Mosquito Squad of Southern New Hampshire is ready to give the ticks from Windham to Candia and east from Seabrook Beach to Portsmouth a rude spring awakening. We combat the tick population with a combination of control methods and by interrupting their life cycle. Our barrier treatment eradicates ticks in the adult stage, and tick traps effectively eliminate them in the nymph stage. By using both of these methods, we can reduce your risk of exposure to ticks by 97%, and by reducing the number of ticks in your yard, you reduce the risk of Lyme disease.

Don’t give ticks a chance to bite the people and animals you love, let alone infect them. Contact Mosquito Squad of Southern New Hampshire  to discuss our tick control options. We can put them to sleep forever just as soon as they wake up. Call us today for a free quote at (603) 538-3125!